Chair



S. PEPPAS July 26, 1938.

CHAIR Filed Sept. 15, 1936 2 Sheets-Shet. i

ATTORNEY S. PEPPAS July 26, 1938.

CHAIR Filed Sept. 15, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 5AM PEP/=45 I f I g I 1 ATTORNEY.

the chairs for seating or leaving.

Patented July 26, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIfiE CHAIR Sam Peppas, Elyria, Ohio Application September 15, 1936, Serial No. 100,851

1 Claim. (Cl. 85)

This invention relates to I improvements in chairs and more particularly to that type of chair having a pivoted seat and used primarily in theatres.

Chairs of this type are usually arranged in rows, one behind the other, leaving spaces to provide aisles through which access is had to When the seat is in its lowered or occupied position it usually extends considerably into these aisles and it is for this reason that the seats are pivotedly mounted so that they may be swung to their upper or unoccupied position to free the aisle so as not to interfere with persons taking or leaving the seats. Some of these seats are freely pivotable for movement manually by the user while others having spring means to maintain the seats in raised position, being adapted formanual movement into occupied position by the user when desired. While certain types of the latter chairs are constructed alike it is found after installation that they require different degrees of spring tension in order'that the seat will be freely, quickly, and noiselessly raised to an unoccupied position. For this reason the spring means heretofore employed, which merely consisted of a single springmounted oneach seat, was objectionable, and as a result has not been generally adopted. 7 v

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide'a pivotedseat fora chair of the type referred to, which will eliminate thaa'forementioned objections with the result that the seats will at all times assume an upright or unoccupied position the moment a person lifts'his or her weight from the seat, thus providing for a free, unobstructed aisle through which persons may readily pass. g V v I 7 A further object of the invention is to provide an adjustment for the spring means whereby the seat may be properly balanced so as to operate freely but quietly. v A still further object of the invention is to provide an adjustable spring tensioning means for the seat which may be attached to chairs of well known construction without in any manner necessitating reconstruction or rearrangement of the chair parts, and likewise one which may be readily attached to chairs which have been previously installed in theatres or like places.

With the objects above indicated and other objects hereinafter explained'in view, my invention consists in the construction and combination of elements hereinafter described and claimed.

occupied position.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of a fragmentary portion of the bottom of the seat structure shown on an enlarged scale to more clearly illustrate the structural details. 10

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of that shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view of the various parts of the spring assembly, arranged in separated relation and showing the manner in which the parts are 15 assembled.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 but of a modified structure still embodying the same invention. h

Figure 6 is a side View of that shown in Fig- 20 ure 5.

Figure 7 is a view of the various parts of the modified spring assembly shown in Figure 5, arranged in separated relation and showing the manner in which the parts are assembled. '25

In the drawings I have shown one type of chair to which the invention is particularly well adapted, but it should be understood that I am not to be limited thereto 'as it is obvious that the invention is as well adapted to other types of chairs.

The chair comprises a pair of side members [IL-l0 which are spaced apart and extend in vertically parallel relation. These side members are preferably madeof metal and in the present 35 instance are H shaped. The lower ends of the side members are adapted to rest upon a floor or other suitable supporting structure to which they are rigidly secured, while the upper ends have arm rests li!| secured thereto in any 40 well known manner. A back 12 has its lower portion secured to the side members and extends upwardlyat an angle, the front surface of which may be upholstered or otherwise covered as indicated by I3. 45

A seat I4 is pivotally mounted on the side members l0i and has an upholstered cushion l5 secured to the upper side and upon which a person may sit when the seat is in its lowered or occupied position as indicated by the dot and 50 dash lines. The seat It may be pivotally mounted in any desired manner but in the present instance a pair of brackets IS are positioned upon opposite sides of the seat and have, their rear ends bolted or otherwise secured at ll to 55 the side members l9-I0. The forward ends of the brackets l6 are formed with circumferential flanges l8 which extend inwardly toward each other and co-axial with the axis are circular bosses l9. 7

The seat M has a pair of members 20 riveted or otherwise secured at 2| to the underside of the seat which are of angular cross section and have one of their legs projected downwardly when the seat is in its lowered position. The members 29 at their lower ends are provided with substantially circular enlargements 22 which are slightly smaller in diameter than the circumferential flanges [8 of the bracket i6 and adjacent which the latter is positioned as viewed in Figure 2. The circular enlargements 22 are likewise provided with co-axial bosses 23 which are arranged adjacent the bosses IS, the inner adjacent faces of the bosses being recessed to receive balls 24. This construction provides a pivot for the seat and the balls enable the seat to be moved quietly and frictionlessly. On diametrically opposite sides of the circular enlargements 22 are extensions 25 which project outwardly and are disposed within the circumferential flanges l8 thus functioning as a guide in the relative movement of the members.

Clamping members 26 are positioned upon the inside of the circular enlargements 22 and have extensions 21 which bear against the adjacent sides of the enlargements co-axially of the bosses and balls, while the opposite end is bent laterally at 28 beyond the adjacent portion of the enlargements 22 and are provided with grooves 29 adapted to seat on tongues 39 provided on the circumferential flanges It to prevent relative angular movement therebetween. The ends of the brackets within the circumferential flanges i8 are provided with openings to receive bolts 32 which extend through arcuate slots 3i provided in the enlargements 22 and openings in the clamps 26. Ordinarily nuts are provided on the ends of these bolts which may be tightened to hold the various described parts in assembled relation, but in a manner to permit unrestricted pivotal movement of the seat. The ends of the slots 3% are positioned so as to limit the pivotal movement of the seat and likewise it will be noted that the openings for the bolts 32 are positioned eccentrically with respect to the pivotal axis of the seat. This much of the construction forms no part of the present invention except as it may be included in combination with the improved spring device.

In the present embodiment of the invention one of the bolts 32 is utilized and preferably the right one as viewed from the front of the seat so that in the downward movement of the latter the spring device will have no tendency to become loosened. Furthermore only one spring device is required for a seat in order that it efficiently operate.

A length of rod 33 has an axial opening 34 in one end thereof which is interiorly screwthreaded and fits the screwthreaded end of the bolt 32. The rod 33 is screwed tightly into place against the clamp 23 and holds the parts in assembled relation thus taking the place of the usual nut. A spring 35 has a coiled portion which encircles the rod 33 and a laterally extending end 36 which engages the under side of the member 26 as shown in Figures 2 and 3 and is adapted to be moved thereby. The other end of the spring 35 is bent axially at 31 and fits Within an opening 38 provided in a collar 39 loosely mounted upon the free end of the rod 33. This collar has a plurality of pairs of transversely aligned openings 49 which are adapted to align with an opening 4i provided in the outer end of the rod and a pin 42 is placed within the selected pair of openings 49 and opening 4| to prevent relative movement. By turning the collar 39 about the rod 33 the spring 35 is tensioned as desired and the pin 42 is then inserted through the aligned openings to maintain the tension adjustment. All of these parts are stationarily mounted with respect to the seat except the end 36 of the spring and when the seat is moved to its lowered or occupied position the end of the spring is also moved against the tension therein. As soon as the weight on the seat is removed the tension in the spring causes the end 36 to exert a force against the under side of the seat with the result that the latter is moved quickly and quietly to its upper or unoccupied position.

In the modification shown in Figures 5 to '7 inclusive, the chair parts are arranged precisely the same as those shown in the figures heretofore described and the same reference numerals are employed to designate corresponding elements.

The bolt 32 extends through aligned openings in the circular enlargement 22 of the bracket I6 and the clamp 26 and a nut 32 has threaded engagement with the bolt for maintaining the parts in assembled relation.

In this modified construction the clamp 26 has an extension 43 preferably formed integral therewith projecting from one side thereof in parallelism with the axis of the seat pivot. A spring 44 has a coiled portion which encircles the extension 43 and a laterally extending end 45 which engages the under side of the adjacent member 20 of the seat l4. The other end of the spring has an axial extension 46 adapted to fit within an opening 4'! provided in collar 48 which is loosely mounted on the free end of the extension 43. The collar 48 has a plurality of pairs of aligned openings 49 extending transversely therethrough any pair of which is adapted for alignment withan opening 50 provided in the end of the extenison 43. A pin 5| removably fits within the desired aligned openings 49 and 59 and prevents relative movement between the collar and extension 43. This arrangement holds the collar in properly adjusted position and at the same time prevents accidental removal.

The desired tension for raising the seat may be obtained by removing the pin 51 and rotating thesleeve 48 in the proper direction until the spring is properly tensioned. The nearest pair of aligned openings 49 are then brought in to alignment with the opening 50 in the extension 43 and the pin 5! is then reinserted therein. A wide range of spring tension is thus provided. When the seat is moved to lowered or occupied position the end 45 of the spring 44 is moved therewith thus increasing the tension in the spring. When the weight on the seat is removed this tension exerts a force on the seat through the engaging end of the spring and causes the seat to be raised quickly and quietly to its upper or unoccupied position.

While I have described the preferred embodiment of the invention it is to be understood that I am not to be limited thereto inasmuch as changes and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A chair comprising a frame, a pivotal seat, brackets having one of their ends secured to said frame and their other ends extending outwardly on opposite sides of said seat, pivotal mountings between said seat and the outer ends of said brackets, removable clamps positioned inwardly of said pivotal mountings and having portions engageable with said brackets, bolts for holding said clamps and brackets in assembled relation and said pivotal mountings in operative position, the screwthreaded ends of the bolts projecting inwardly toward each other beyond said clamps, a member having one end rigidly connected to one of said brackets and extending inwardly therefrom in spaced relation to but substantially parallel with the axis of said bolts and its other end free, the free end of said member being provided with an opening extending transversely therethrough, a tension spring having a coiled portion encircling said member and one end projecting laterally into engagement with said seat for resistably maintaining the latter in its normal raised position and its other end ex tending angularly, a collar loosely mounted on the free end of said member and connected to the angular extension of said spring, said collar being adapted for limited angular adjustment whereby the tension in said spring may be varied, said collar being provided with a plurality of pairs of transversely aligned openings, said pairs of openings being selectively adapted for alignment with the transverse opening in said member upon angular movement of said collar, and a pin insertible in the selected pair of aligned openings in said collar and in the transverse opening in said member to secure said collar in adjusted position.

SAM PEPPAS. 

